The Tippbarlake ‘Wild Westcountry’ Exmoor Pony Herd Gathering

On Monday, we were in for a real treat, the Tippbarlake 'Wild Westcountry' Exmoor Pony Herd gathering, the world's largest free-living herd of Exmoor Ponies. After emailing to learn more, we were given an obscure address (just a postcode) and told to show up at 11am. Well, we did a fair amount of driving in circles before finally stopping at a farm to ask for assistance. Finally, we found the car convoy of pony seekers. We parked alongside the road deep in the heart of Exmoor and waited for the action to begin. Riders on horseback and people on ATVs were working behind the scenes to herd the ponies, who ran across the moors before descending into a valley and running through water to return back to the farm. It was a blustery, cold day. We waited anxiously and finally, ponies were spotted on the run. A few small groups and then a massive herd running across the stunning landscape! I captured some of this on video posted below. I love the video for the beauty of the moment and also for Jude's dire concern that I was going to drop my phone out of the car window :)

 From Wikipedia: The Exmoor pony is a horse breed native to the British Isles, where some still roam as semi-feral livestock on Exmoor, a large area of moorland inDevon and Somerset in southwest England. The Exmoor has been given "endangered" status by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, and "threatened" status by The Livestock Conservancy. It is one of the British Isles' mountain and moorland pony breeds, having conformation similar to that of other cold-weather-adapted pony breeds. The Exmoor pony is hardy and used for a variety of equestrian activities. In its free-roaming state, the breed's presence on Exmoor contributes to the conservation and management of several natural pasture habitats.

After watching the herd, we went to lunch at the Staghunters Inn. This was a really authentic family run guest house and pub. We enjoyed the hearty, local fare, ales, ciders and very friendly bartender. 

Selworthy